Drywall mud applicator handle

ABSTRACT

A drywall mud applicator handle is provided. The drywall mud applicator handle has a generally cylindrical exterior tube having a generally hollow interior having components. The generally hollow interior of the handle contains a second hollow tube (therein having a reduced weight over existing solid rods) for activating the drywall mud applicator. The second hollow tube lacks any bends and may therein be reversed to dramatically increase the life span of the second hollow tube by altering the wear and tear on the tube evenly.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The following application is a based on and claims the priority benefitof U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/515,591 filed Jun. 6, 2017currently co-pending; the entire content of which is incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A drywall mud applicator handle is provided. The drywall mud applicatorhandle has a generally cylindrical exterior tube having a generallyhollow interior having components. The generally hollow interior of thehandle contains a second hollow tube (therein having a reduced weightover existing solid rods) for activating the drywall mud applicator. Thesecond hollow tube lacks any bends and may therein be reversed todramatically increase the life span of the second hollow tube byaltering the wear and tear on the tube evenly.

Drywall mud applicators having interior components have been invented inthe past. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,902,451 to O'Mara discloses anapplicator for applying joint compound or mud to wallboard has sixembodiments with a head, a mud outlet and a mud hose. The applicator hasa handle and a control valve for controlling the flow of mud. Eachembodiment also has a screed on the head above the mud outlet whichextends beyond the end of the head. The screed smoothes down the mudapplied to the wall and wipes away any excess mud. The first embodimenthas a fan-shaped head with baffles to define multiple flow ports. Thesecond and third embodiments have a rectangular head and a pair ofretractable corner stops which align the mud outlets flush with thecorners of drywall sections. The third embodiment adds a dispersionmechanism for varying the width of the outlet. The fourth embodiment ofthe applicator has a wedge-shaped head and a V-shaped screed with flowports in the sidewalls that are designed to apply mud to right-angledcorners. The control valve of the final embodiment has a cylindricalcore with a slot which selectively aligns with a slot in the mudchamber. The control valve is operated by a spring-biased lever whichcontacts the wall. The lever has a pair of arms and a wheel on each arm.The arms extend from an outer edge of the control valve past the mudoutlet to automatically open flow when the head is pressed against thewall.

Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,287 to Carlson discloses a tool forfinishing joints at flat surfaces or corners of wallboard walls afteradhesive and tape have been applied are attached to the applicator toolby a rotatable yoke connection near the roller of the applicator so thatthe finishing tool will follow the applicator tool. The finishing toolincludes a roller rotatable about an axle for embedding tape into theadhesive. Frame structure rotatably supported on the roller axle isprovided with trowel means having a working surface moving parallel tothe wallboard surface and placed close to the roller, at least on thesides, to spread adhesive pressed from under the tape back over thetape. Finishing means attached to the frame structure to follow thetrowel collects the excess adhesive and distributes it in a smoothsurface generally in the plane of the wallboard, filling in any voidsleft by trowel action. A cylindrical roller is used for joints in flatwallboard. A finishing tool having a complex roller having abase-to-base dual right frustoconcial form with an axle on the commonaxes of the cones and conical surfaces meeting at an angle of no morethan 90.degree is used in the corner.

However, these drywall mud applicators do not provide a drywall mudapplicator having a hollow interior second tube which is easy to use,efficient and inexpensive as is disclosed in the present application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A drywall mud applicator handle is provided. The drywall mud applicatorhandle has a generally cylindrical exterior tube having a generallyhollow interior having components. The generally hollow interior of thehandle contains a second hollow tube (therein having a reduced weightover existing solid rods) for activating the drywall mud applicator. Thesecond hollow tube lacks any bends and may therein be reversed todramatically increase the life span of the second hollow tube byaltering the wear and tear on the tube evenly.

An advantage of the present drywall applicator handle is that life spanof the interior second hollow tube (the “activator component”) of thehandle may be generally doubled over existing drywall applicators.

And another advantage of the present drywall applicator handle is thatthe present device may be less expensive to produce.

Yet another advantage of the present drywall applicator handle is thatthe present device is lighter and easier to use.

For a more complete understanding of the above listed features andadvantages of the present drywall mud applicator handle device referenceshould be made to the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments. Further, additional features and advantages of theinvention are described in, and will be apparent from, the detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the interior of prior artdrywall mud applicator handles.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the interior of the presentdrywall mud applicator handle.

FIG. 3 illustrates top view of the connection point of the second hollowtube to the front (or business end) of the device.

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of the second end of the handlewherein an adaptable extender is provided.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A drywall mud applicator handle is provided. The drywall mud applicatorhandle has a generally cylindrical exterior tube having a generallyhollow interior having components. The generally hollow interior of thehandle contains a second hollow tube (therein having a reduced weightover existing solid rods) for activating the drywall mud applicator. Thesecond hollow tube lacks any bends and may therein be reversed todramatically increase the life span of the second hollow tube byaltering the wear and tear on the tube evenly.

Referring first to FIG. 2, an embodiment, a drywall mud applicatorhandle 1 is provided. The handle 1 may have a first end 2, a second end3 (FIG. 4), a generally cylindrical side 4 and a generally hollowinterior 5. Within the generally hollow interior 5 of the handle 1 maybe an elongated activator tube 10, wherein the elongated activator tube10 has a first end 11 and a second end (not shown). A pull rod 85 (FIGS.1 and 2) may be connected to a trigger mechanism for a person to controlwith his/her hands. Typically, elongated activator tubes 10 of existingprior art drywall mud applicator handles are solid. As a result, theoverall weight and cost of production of the device is increased overthe present elongated activator tube 10 as a result of the present tube10 being hollow. Located at the first end 11 of the elongated activatortube 10 may be a “pinched” or flattened portion 90 (FIG. 3) whichreceives a pin 91 for activating the tip 100 of the device.

In an embodiment, the pinched portion 90 of the elongated activator tube10 is located off-center from the tip 100 of the device 1 as isillustrated in FIG. 2. In particular, a generally flat connection unit95 having rounded edges may connect the pinched portion 90 of the firstend 11 of the elongated activator tube 10 to the tip 100 of the deviceby means of two pins 91 (one at each end of the connection unit 95). Thepins 91 may allow the connection unit 95 to rotate; therein allowing thefirst end 11 of the elongated activator tube 10 to move slightly closerto or away from the tip 100. Thus, the two pins 91 act as pivots betweenthe elongated activator tube 10 and the tip 100. In an embodiment, thetip 100 locks a drywall mud applicator box (not shown) and secures thesame for use.

In an alternative embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the second end 3of the drywall mud applicator handle 1 may have a threaded portion 50which correspondingly is secured into a threaded portion 51 of a secondunit 52. The second unit 52 may allow for the length of the overallhandle 1 to be extended so as to allow a user to reach higher surfaceson a wall. The second unit 52 may be easily added or removed from thesecond end 3 of the handle 1, depending on the needed use.

The present elongated activator tube 10 may further be straight, whereasexisting prior art activator tubes have a bend near 40 the front end(see FIG. 1). The bend of existing prior art elongated activator tubesallows the tube to extend through an opening 30 which is off-centered onan end cap 35 of the handle 1. As a result, the elongated activator tubeof existing prior art devices may not be flipped over as the bendedportion will therein not be directed into the off-centered opening 30 inthe end cap 35.

The present elongated activator tube 10 may be flipped over as a resultof being straight (See FIG. 2). The straight elongated activator tube 10may extend through a centered opening 30 of the end cap 35 of thepresent device 1 as is shown in FIG. 2. As a result, the elongatedactivator tube 10 of the present device may be flipped so that wear andtear on the elongated activator tube 10 may be evenly divided. Inparticular, in normal use in existing activator rods (#10 of FIG. 1), awasher 75 digs into the rod more heavily on one side than the other sideof the elongated rod. More specifically, a washer 75 activated by a pullrod 85 causes the washer 75 to unevenly apply pressure to one side ofthe elongated activator tube 10. This causes uneven wear and tear. Thepresent device allows for a quick flipping of the elongated activatortube 10 so that the elongated activator tube 10 experiences even wearand tear. In an alternative embodiment, the pull rod 85 may be astainless steel band, as opposed to a rod, so as to the overall reduceweight of the device. For clarity purposes, as described above, thepresent elongated activator tube 10 may be flipped so that the #90 onFIG. 3 would then be located next to the #95 in FIG. 3 once flipped.

Although embodiments of the invention are shown and described therein,it should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in theart. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention and without diminishing itsattendant advantages.

I claim: 1) A handle for a drywall mud applicator comprising: a firstend and a second end of a main hollow tube wherein the main hollow tubehas an opening at the first end; a second hollow tube having a first endand a second end wherein the second hollow tube is located within thefirst hollow tube wherein the second hollow tube lacks a bend andwherein the second hollow tube controls an activator tip of the drywallmud applicator; and wherein the second hollow tube extends through theopening of the first end of the main hollow tube. 2) The handle for adrywall mud applicator of claim 1 further comprising: a flattenedportion of the first end of the second hollow tube wherein the flattenedportion of the first end of the second hollow tube is secured to a pivotpin. 3) The handle for a drywall mud applicator of claim 1 wherein thesecond hollow tube may be flipped and wherein the first end of thesecond hollow tube may pass through the opening of the first end of themain hollow tube when the second hollow tube is flipped and wherein thesecond hollow tube may still activate the activator tip.